Gareth Bale is...The most expensive player ever?!

Bale is clearly a very good player, but I do not think this would be the correct signing. He would cost an enormous fee, and I feel he is too direct a player to be suited to a fluid front-line.

If we are to break our transfer record, then either Neymar or Götze (whose talent I was the first to spot on this forum) must be the targets.
 
redmeister said:
He's started 8 Prem games against you and scored in 4 of them. I don't think you can really criticize his contribution. And it's not as if your defence weren't trying against him last week or that his team had as many players on the pitch. He got chance and scored a quality goal.
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Walcott's scored 4 in the last two v Spurs.
 
johnmufc said:
Bale is clearly a very good player, but I do not think this would be the correct signing. He would cost an enormous fee, and I feel he is too direct a player to be suited to a fluid front-line.

If we are to break our transfer record, then either Neymar or Götze (whose talent I was the first to spot on this forum) must be the targets.
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:lol:

So sad in so many ways. Particularly given you're spectacularly wrong. Even if you were right, all it means is you were one of the few people who happened to watch Dortmund at the time...go you! What a talent scout you are. You sad, sad little man.

July 2009:

Jaap said:
Indeed, he's one of the most exciting young German prospects, and only 17-years young.

His close control is class, his through-balls are top-notch and his vision is great also. He has scored 19 goals in 35 games this season.

If my memory serves me right, he is training with Dortmund's first team for pre-season at the moment.

Both assists by Götze:

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November 2010:

Jaap said:
Watch out for Mario Götze - clever little player, who has cemented his place in Borussia Dortmund's starting line-up this season. Will certainly be involved tonight - whether on the right-side of midfield or on the left.

Has been hailed ''one of the best German talents in the last twenty years'' by Matthias Sammer!
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February 2011:

johnmufc said:
Another young German talent. An 18 year-old midfielder for Borussia Dortmund.

He reminds me of Jack Wilshere. He is very technically skilled, and seems to play with intelligence beyond his years.

I have not watched him too many times, but he looks like a special talent from what I've seen. He is already a German International, having made his debut in November. He has 4 goals in 20 games so far in the Bundesliga this season.

Any thoughts?
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12 days later, February 2011:

johnmufc said:
:boring:

I liked him before it was cool to like him.
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I didn't have the heart to point this out to you at the time...
 
Brwned said:
:lol:

So sad in so many ways. Particularly given you're spectacularly wrong. Even if you were right, all it means is you were one of the few people who happened to watch Dortmund at the time...go you! What a talent scout you are. You sad, sad little man.

July 2009:



November 2010:



February 2011:



12 days later, February 2011:



I didn't have the heart to point this out to you at the time...
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:lol: schooled or Browned!
 
redmeister said:
He's going to move to a different level, one that the likes of Giggs, Pires, Overmars, Gerrard or even Lampard never reached. People can find all sorts of reasons to criticize him, but the way he can shift and shoot with such venom is going to mean than over the next year or two he'll become lethal. People mock and laugh at how him tries to play like Ronaldo, but he really does have a lot of similarities. I doubt he'll get close to Ronaldo levels, as lets' face only a few players in history have. But other than Ronaldo, I think he'll become the most effective Prem attacking midfielder to date.
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You make this sound like some kind of supernatural quality that will elevate him above all those genuinely great players you mentioned, when each of those players had at least one sought-after ability that they could school Bale on. Pires was just on another intelligence plane to Bale; Giggs was a rare explosive player who also served the team's needs at his own expense over the years (and was a better tackler!); Gerrard and Lampard were able to influence games at the highest level for a number of years. I just don't know how you can compare him to Ronaldo just because he can shift+shoot, like many other players in the game.
 
David White had power and pace like Bale and scored some cracking goals. He burst into the England team but then just tailed off, went to Leeds and turned shit.

He's a binman now.
 
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Lynk said:
Bale would be more consistent if he relied solely on what he has and stopped kidding himself into thinking he's a Ronaldo type player. You can pin you ears and style your hair anyway you like Gareth, you're not an inside forward.
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Yeh and just become one-dimensional to the extreme....to the point where you become predictable and easier to anticipate. When his pace and acceleration starts to diminish what will he do then? He can start to adapt his game but he might not become the player he wants to be.

Or....try to become a more complete attacking player now while he is still young, learning the game and improving quickly? You make it sound like it's some sort of footballing crime to model parts of your game on arguably the greatest player in the world....it's a compliment to Ronaldo if anything and I'm sure he would see it that way.

Why is it so offensive to you to see a player attempt to improve his game? I just think you have a ridiculous agenda with Bale you repeat the same shit over and over again in this thread.....change the record mate seriously.
 
Cina said:
Nani doesn't do it in big games, he's incapable of moments of magic out of nothing, he's definitely whining over a new contract, FACHT. Bale is more consistent than him.

I mean look, the fact that you were able to name an entire three "big" games for Bale speaks for itself really. I can't compare with that at all.

Wales vs Scotland, clash of the titans!
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Most of the time when I'm on the caf I'm on an ipad (such as right now) so I'm not going to copy and paste every supporting fact that's otherwise easily copied and pasted from a laptop into a post.

If you truly believe that Nani regularly shows up for United in big games and that Bale doesn't, that's fine with me. But it's easily verified that Bale scored a huge goal against us earlier this season and that he almost single-handed lay (or single-footedly, as the case may be) destroyed Inter Milan. Nani, on the hand, doesnt even make the starting XI very often now and not just because of injury. He's not even considered United's top winger. Undeniable facts.

But before this post gets interpreted as a "Nani is shit." post, let me be clear as to what I am saying:

Bale is a magnificent footballer.
Bale would not be worth to United what Spurs would demand for him.
Nani is also an outstanding footballer, on his day.

Most critically, this:

On their best day, Nani is better than Bale. Let me repeat that...on their best day, Nani is better than Bale. Here's the problem: for whatever reason that I do not understand, Nani is ridiculously inconsistent. In that light and only in that light, I would take Bale over Nani. But if you assured me right now that Nani has gotten his act together and could put in a string of 5-6 top form performances straight, I wouldn't even think about Bale, even at a cut rate transfer fee in the low 20s.
 
The fact that you think that Bale is consistent and Nani isn't speaks volumes, to be honest. Maybe right now but given Nani's situation what the feck do you actually expect? In the last three years Nani has been the more productive player.

Also worth noting that Nani was our fastest ever non striker (possibly even player in general, can't remember) to score against Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and City, so this idea that he doesn't deliver in big games is crazy.

Even last season when not at his best he scored goals against City, Chelsea and Arsenal, and was still our most productive winger overall! And the season before he was practically winning us games by himself. Also Bayern and Arsenal the year before when he broke into the team. But hey, Bale scored a great goal against Scotland and had a great game against Inter (even though Spurs lost), and scored against us recently, so obviously he wins!

Honestly the idea that you think Bale is a better option is total rubbish.
 
Cina said:
The fact that you think that Bale is consistent and Nani isn't speaks volumes, to be honest. Maybe right now but given Nani's situation what the feck do you actually expect? In the last three years Nani has been the more productive player.

Also worth noting that Nani was our fastest ever non striker (possibly even player in general, can't remember) to score against Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and City, so this idea that he doesn't deliver in big games is crazy.

Even last season when not at his best he scored goals against City, Chelsea and Arsenal, and was still our most productive winger overall! And the season before he was practically winning us games by himself. Also Bayern and Arsenal the year before when he broke into the team. But hey, Bale scored a great goal against Scotland and had a great game against Inter (even though Spurs lost), and scored against us recently, so obviously he wins!

Honestly the idea that you think Bale is a better option is total rubbish.
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Very good post, and I agree!

This season, Bale has been the better player, but then again, Nani is out of favour. One hasn't paid a lot of attention if one is to think that is down to his form.

Nani has better technical abilities; I would even argue he has better acceleration and carries the ball better. His shooting and crossing is about equal to that of Bale. Nani is also a much better dribbler, and subsequently is able to create things on his own to a larger extent than Bale can, as Bale can be taken out of the game by fast fullbacks.

The game against United, I thought Bale was rubbish most of the match. I've watched Tottenham a lot, and I look forward to seeing Bale every time to see what the hype is about; I've even talked to Tottenham supporters about him, and they think he is FAR too inconsistent to be called a world beater. They also find him frustrating. After watching him quite a bit, I find him a bit underwhelming.

All that said, I think he would make a very good addition to the squad as Nani seems to be out the doors and Young isn't good enough. He has pace, power and, like Nani, a decent shot.
 
I guess that if Ruud meant 'at this moment', I'd agree. So far this season, as it's been pointed out, it's no contest who has been the better player. Of course there's mitigating circumstances for Nani, but that shouldn't really come into account, we don't know whether such circumstances will disappear and he'll find a place back into the squad. Doesn't exactly look likely at the moment.

In any case, one thing about Bale is that, as non-Tottenham supporters, we usually get to watch him in big games + the ones against Utd. We don't see him in the smaller games, at least not most of them. As I quite enjoy watching Spurs play (well not as much this year to be honest), I sometimes have a look at their smaller games. And as Rossa points out, he's often quite anonymous in them and it doesn't surprise me one bit Spurs' fan find him frustrating. He's probably as inconsistent as Nani, but unless I'm wrong, he's also a bit younger so it's not quite fair to compare them from that point of view.

What kinda annoys me is that I wouldn't mind him at the club should Nani leave. But the price Spurs would get for him would be ridiculous for a guy that is still a prospect, despite what some of the media try to portray (he's not yet the finished player), and for that type of talent (not necessarily the same kind of player, but young talent that could develop at the club), I'm sure we could find cheaper options on the continent (I'm thinking of Isco, but I'm sure there's others). But after all, in the end, I'm not paying for the player, so it doesn't really matter.
 
Ruud10 said:
Most of the time when I'm on the caf I'm on an ipad (such as right now) so I'm not going to copy and paste every supporting fact that's otherwise easily copied and pasted from a laptop into a post.

If you truly believe that Nani regularly shows up for United in big games and that Bale doesn't, that's fine with me. But it's easily verified that Bale scored a huge goal against us earlier this season and that he almost single-handed lay (or single-footedly, as the case may be) destroyed Inter Milan. Nani, on the hand, doesnt even make the starting XI very often now and not just because of injury. He's not even considered United's top winger. Undeniable facts.

But before this post gets interpreted as a "Nani is shit." post, let me be clear as to what I am saying:

Bale is a magnificent footballer.
Bale would not be worth to United what Spurs would demand for him.
Nani is also an outstanding footballer, on his day.

Most critically, this:

On their best day, Nani is better than Bale. Let me repeat that...on their best day, Nani is better than Bale. Here's the problem: for whatever reason that I do not understand, Nani is ridiculously inconsistent. In that light and only in that light, I would take Bale over Nani. But if you assured me right now that Nani has gotten his act together and could put in a string of 5-6 top form performances straight, I wouldn't even think about Bale, even at a cut rate transfer fee in the low 20s.
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How can you even say that Bale is more consistent than Nani? Forget about watching them play, just look at how productive they have been the past few years.
 
amolbhatia100 said:
Really? If there was ONE player who you would call proven in the Premier League it would be Ashley Young?!

Bale is just miles better than Young. I consider him a better version of Valencia, personally. That's precisely why I don't want him here. We as it is spam the wide areas to death these days.
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Before we signed him, he was regular starter in Aston Villa team for 4 seasons in premiership, averaging around 36 games per season, more then 40 per year in total(league+cup competitions). He was probably one of the players with most apps in premiership in those 4 years. Have you even watched premiership before Young arrived?

Cina said:
I actually went to the Young thread to check this, and you're (sort of) right! People were very excited about him when he arrived it seems, oh how things change.
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I told you so.




As for Bale's consistency, oh God. :lol: In some games you need to check lineups to see if he is playing, he is quite often invisible.
 
The only thing that makes Bale look more consistent is one being a Tottenham player that people generally only take notice of when he's done something and one being a United player that people spend most of the time debating his various flaws. Not a chance is Bale in any way consistent, but then he's a 23 year old winger - it's not really surprising. The long-lasting Bale hype is surprising though.

A good game against us followed by a good game against Scotland two weeks later, followed by a good game against Arsenal over a month later is Bale's typical 'consistency'. He scored 2 goals in his last 18 games last season, and 3 goals in his first 11. Nani gets slaughtered for that level of consistency. He got a hat-trick of assists against Stevenage though so that makes up for it. Bale-logic.
 
So, we have the continuing desperation of many in this thread to "prove" that Bale is over-rated.

I can only wonder, if Bale is so "inconsistent", "one-dimensional" and so often "anonymous", about the driving force that keeps the thread alive. Perhaps the answer is found in the inner-most suspicions of Bale's critics that they are profoundly wrong ... leading to ever more partisan nay-saying and denial as they try and shore up their creaking but entrenched positions.

The more Bale shines, the more cold-water is poured. It's all quite amusing.
 
Bale is really good and will get even better but not the player for us and will cost waay too much.

I'm afraid it will be City or Chelsea and have a hunch that he will head overseas.
 
Bale isn't the most consistent, but he's more consistent than Nani. That's quite clear. Nani's been poor this season, and can often have spells of being very poor. So does Bale, but it's something he's improved on. While he will have games where he's invisible, he's not much worse than a lot of wingers and is better than Bale in that regard.

I agree that Nani at his best is better than Bale, but since Nani's excellent 2010/2011 season, he's really lost the consistency. Ironically, Bale's has actually improved since that season.
 
GlastonSpur said:
So, we have the continuing desperation of many in this thread to "prove" that Bale is over-rated.

I can only wonder, if Bale is so "inconsistent", "one-dimensional" and so often "anonymous", about the driving force that keeps the thread alive. Perhaps the answer is found in the inner-most suspicions of Bale's critics that they are profoundly wrong ... leading to ever more partisan nay-saying and denial as they try and shore up their creaking but entrenched positions.

The more Bale shines, the more cold-water is poured. It's all quite amusing.
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Do you think he developed as a player last season? Looked to me like his development stagnated somewhat and he got more criticism for that than for "shining".
 
Brwned said:
Do you think he developed as a player last season? Looked to me like his development stagnated somewhat and he got more criticism for that than for "shining".
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12 goals and 14 assists last season (and the stats underplay his impact) would strongly suggest that, yes, he, did develop.
 
GlastonSpur said:
12 goals and 14 assists last season (and the stats underplay his impact) would strongly suggest that, yes, he, did develop.
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Does conversing with people like a right arsehole make you feel big or something? You're a right arse when you respond to people, especially when they question Spurs or Bale.

Why can't you be more civil, like Peterstorey for example?
 
GlastonSpur said:
So, we have the continuing desperation of many in this thread to "prove" that Bale is over-rated.

I can only wonder, if Bale is so "inconsistent", "one-dimensional" and so often "anonymous", about the driving force that keeps the thread alive. Perhaps the answer is found in the inner-most suspicions of Bale's critics that they are profoundly wrong ... leading to ever more partisan nay-saying and denial as they try and shore up their creaking but entrenched positions.

The more Bale shines, the more cold-water is poured. It's all quite amusing.
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That's amusingly retarded.
 
9 goals and 10 league assists in 36 league starts doesn't really scream top class player to me. Particularly given the only players to take more shots than him last year were Rooney, Van Persie and Dempsey (ouch). Compare that to Nani's 1 less goal (from less than half as many shots) and same number of assists in just 24 starts (4 sub appearances). And Nani was considered to have had a somewhat underwhelming season last year. Stats, eh? A hat-trick of assists against Stevenage hardly seems worth paying any attention to...

You're good at offering your opinion without ever actually offering your opinion.
 
GlastonSpur said:
So, we have the continuing desperation of many in this thread to "prove" that Bale is over-rated.

I can only wonder, if Bale is so "inconsistent", "one-dimensional" and so often "anonymous", about the driving force that keeps the thread alive. Perhaps the answer is found in the inner-most suspicions of Bale's critics that they are profoundly wrong ... leading to ever more partisan nay-saying and denial as they try and shore up their creaking but entrenched positions.

The more Bale shines, the more cold-water is poured. It's all quite amusing.
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What does this mean?
 
Brwned said:
9 goals and 10 league assists in 36 league starts doesn't really scream top class player to me. .... You're good at offering your opinion without ever actually offering your opinion.
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You asked if I thought he had developed further last season. I've given you my answer ("yes"), but apparently it doesn't qualify as an "opinion".

I gave you some stats to support the point ... pretty convincing stats IMO. So now you shift the ground from "developing as a player" onto whether or not the stats scream top-class player :wenger:
 
peterstorey said:
You can't have it both ways either the stats tell the story or they don't. Walcott's are just as good and he doesn't get the bullshit.
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The stats tell some of the story, but not all of it .... as with most players.

How do you explain the fact the Bale is widely regarded as being significantly better than Walcott? Do you think it's all just a media conspiracy?
 
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